NC State coach Sidney Lowe said his team might have had a little bit of a hangover from Sunday's last-second miracle loss to Florida, but he liked the approach the squad had in defeating Holy Cross 87-70 on Wednesday at the RBC Center.

NC State came alive in the second half, and was aided by backup guards Julius Mays, a sophomore point guard, and fifth-year senior shooting guard Farnold Degand. Mays scored 15 points and went 3 of 6 from three-point range, and Degand added 12 points and nine assists.

Lowe talked about his bench, and also how proud he was that they went 11 of 12 from the free-throw line in his press conference following the game.